Review: ‘The Three Musketeers’

Despite being the umpteenth version of the classic cavalier caper, and not even the first one to be animated, Euro co-production "The Three Musketeers" charms, if only for having been made with puppets, an outright novelty in this era of computer-generated toons.

Despite being the umpteenth version of the classic cavalier caper, and not even the first one to be animated, Euro co-production “The Three Musketeers” charms, if only for having been made with puppets, an outright novelty in this era of computer-generated toons. Co-helmed by Latvian animator Janis Cimermanis and Dane Gert Fredholm, briskly made kidpic emphasizes knockabout and earthy humor, but stays roughly faithful to Alexandre Dumas’ original story. Theatrical prospects beyond Denmark, Latvia, Blighty and Gaul (it’s already opened in the last) aren’t hot, but with redubbing, pic could win over the tiny-tot market on ancillary.

Hot-blooded musketeer wannabe D’Artagnan falls in with titular threesome — soldiers Porthos, Aramis and Athos. Before long, they’re pulled into a court intrigue centered around some missing diamonds and involving the Queen of France, the nefarious Cardinal Richelieu and lady-in-waiting Milady. Swords clash and buckles are swashed, but hardly any muskets are ever fired. Figures have beaky, caricatured features but no moving facial parts, which forces animators to rely inventively on posture and gesture to suggest emotion, making for a pleasantly old-school feel that’s of a piece with the rest of tech package.